ivoryspirefandomcom-20200214-history
Kayal
Descended from humans trapped on the Shadow Plane, the Kayal are a subjugated people serving the umbral dragons that rule the mysterious domain. Generations within the Shadow Plane have changed their human physiology, and the adaptation has granted them skills and abilities suitable to the bleak world. Freed from their plane at the advent of the Demon War, the few surviving refugees have become wards of the Almerian Thaumaturgy Guild History The tales of how humans first came to be on the Shadow Plane and how they became trapped therein have always been just that: tales told in songs by bards. Many speak of great heroes, sacrificing their own agency for the sake of the realm and plunging into the darkness to save their land. Others still claim their ancestors to have been condemned by powerful magi and cast into the Shadow Plane in an act of retribution. The true origin of Kayalian ancestry is unknown since recorded history begins several generations after their appearance, picking up with their subjugation to the First Great Wyrm, Drasil. In spite of the dark beasts and cruel terrain of the Shadow Plane, its new-found people were surviving, scratching out settlements on the fringes of the plane. With every success and victory over great shadowy beasts, they drew more eyes from the umbral horde that ruled large expanses of the land. Eventually even the lord of the dragons, the Great Wyrm Drasil, was soon drawn to the shadow steeped people. Starved for competent worship and working hands, Drasil offered the Kayalian enclave an offer they couldn't refuse: fall in line or be exterminated. Infighting ensued between those that still clung to their ideals of humanity and those who were prepared to do anything to survive; in the end, the Kayal emerged as the mostly willing servants to the umbral horde, worshiping the Great Wyrm as a king. Under the reign of Drasil, the Kayal multiplied and found solid footing on which their new found abilities began to grow. Great settlements and monuments were erected in their leader's image, and children were offered up as servants to the wyrm's every whim. This was the beginning of the lunar cities that spotted the dark plane, serving as homes to sedentary Kayal and altars to the umbral horde. Magical aptitude reappeared in the new generations and became an acquisition to the Great Wyrm; Kayal with magical ability were trained by the dragons and made vassals, going between the dragons and the general population. Those without magical skill became impressively self sufficient, surviving under the radar of the horde as ranger and rogues. While the majority of Kayal were not quite flourishing, they were etching out a suitable living. Their struggles were not nearly as bad as they soon would be. From the western came the creature that would become the Second Great Wyrm, Argrinyxia. Jealous of the hold Drasil had over the land and its inhabitants and empowered by her own sorcery, Argrinyxia sought to lay claim to the domain. The following clash between wyrms lasted months and claimed half the umbral horde, several lunar cities, and thousands of Kayalian lives. When the smoke cleared, Argrinyxia stood triumphant. Where Drasil had fancied himself a king, Argrinyxia set out to fashion herself a god to those who remained, and she established her iron grip on the realm swiftly and without mercy. The Kayal became little more than fodder to the new Great Wyrm. Even in the wake of the battle that leveled whole cities and families, a command was issued: work was to immediately begin on a grand, sprawling bastion to Argrinyxia's glory. Decades of lives were poured into the construction of the structure, but the deed was done and the Shadow Citadel born. The Shadow Citadel The last great fount of the Kayal population as well as their place of internment within the Shadow Plane. Lorded over by Great Wyrm Argrinyxia, the Kayal population is held in check by her appointed vassals: powerful Kayalian magi loyal only to their Lady. The citadel is in a constant state of flux, sustained by the hard labor of the mundane Kayalian population. While grand in stature, the people of the city has been in a state of degradation for decades; subsisting on thievery, scavenging, and a deep hatred for both their draconic overlords and the magi that serve them, the Kayal withdrew back into enclaves that prized survival over all else. Magi became less of a commodity and more of a threat to security. Most Kayal who displayed magical proficiency were ostracized from communities as early as childhood; rumors of more desperately proud Kayal parents drowning their blue-eyed babes were disturbingly common. Desperation and tempers were high, and that was when the demons showed up. The Demon War Like almost everything else on the Shadow Plane, no one knew where they came from or how they got there. The demons appeared in waves, laying siege to the Shadow Citadel just to get the Argrinyxia's Spire where they punched through the fabric of the universe right into the Material Plane. Seizing the opportunity, there was a mass exodus of subjugated Kayal from the gate, spilling into the Material Plane. In the first days, Kayal both fled with the masses of the Ivory Citadel and fought against demons alongside them, taking up arms to defend their new home. Under the crush of hellish creatures, most of the refugees died or were enslaved yet again by the demons that took the city alongside their Material Plane counterparts. Many who managed to escape were cut down by the arriving Almerian forces, the previously unknown race thought to be another sort of demon crawling out of the Citadel. The few remaining were forced into hiding for fear of persecution, many escaping into the dense forests of Valdurin The Almerian Thaumaturgy Guild It was the Almerian Thaumaturgy Guild that first realized what the Kayal were. It was only a wizard's mind that could reach the conclusion the guild came to: study them. Kayal were gathered up from dungeons and forests and far-flung villages of Valdurin and Caidus by the guild and offered asylum by the guild on the condition that they be allowed to observe and study the natives of the Shadow Plane. It was hardly a choice for most, and before long the guild had amassed more than fifty Kayal for their cause. Setting up their base in the shady town of Feymarsh in Valdurin, they housed and provided for the people, observing their remaining culture and recording the experiences of the elder numbers to create a rudimentary idea of what the Shadow Plane was. There was a disappointing number of magically gifted Kayal in their ranks since most Kayalian magi kept their loyalty to the Great Wyrm, but those that had the gift were trained and treated well, at least by non-Kayalian peoples. As of the year 1113, a round dozen Kayal have been born as natives to the Material Plane. All documented Kayal reside in Valdurin. Physiology Kayal are roughly the same size and shape as humans, albeit far more fragile. Relying on their stealth abilities over brute strength, the average Kayal has an extremely, sometimes disturbingly, slender build with especially delicate extremities. Strains of Kayal with exceptional strength were once as common on the Shadow Plane, but there are evidently none survived on the Material Plane The defining characteristic of the Kayal are their monochromatic skin and hair. All are born stark white and then accumulate their coloring through childhood and puberty, dependent on their surroundings. Coloring slows through adulthood and middle ages; elderly Kayal begin to darken in their twilight years. It is a mark of disease and a likely imminent death if an adult rapidly becomes darker. Hair also darkens with age naturally, but many Kayal dwelling on the Material Plane have taken to dying their hair a variety of colors. Eyes are large with pupiless irises and a faint glow. Eye color in Kayalian culture bears great importance due to the physiological implications. There are only two known eye colorings in the Kayal race: a majority of Kayal possess yellow-green eyes and are considered normal; the rarer blue-green shade is reliably indicative of magical aptitude.